Lourdes Baez Conde

Lourdes Baez Conde is Distinguished Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences and Senior Associate Dean for Community and Workforce Development Initiatives at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine. She serves as Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and oversees the Center for Health Enhancement (CenHealth), which provides critical health information during crises like the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. She holds a courtesy appointment at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Dr. Baez Conde earned her MPH and PhD in Public Health with an emphasis in Community Health Sciences from UCLA. Her educational background underpins her transdisciplinary approach to public health research and community engagement.

Her research focuses on cancer prevention (particularly cervical cancer through the signature "It's Time" program), innovative health communication using narrative techniques and film collaborations with USC Cinema, and tobacco/vaping regulation in diverse communities. She develops community-based interventions that merge academic rigor with grassroots creativity, emphasizing bidirectional communication through community advisory boards. Her work addresses health disparities through culturally tailored approaches for Hispanic populations and vulnerable communities.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals dominant themes in tobacco/vaping research (60% of articles), cancer prevention (27%), and community-engaged methodology (13%). The tobacco studies examine vape shop environments, regulatory compliance, and youth behavior, while cancer work emphasizes breast and cervical screening in underserved groups. All publications demonstrate her signature transdisciplinary approach, frequently partnering with design schools, communication experts, and community organizations.

• Major Awards:
• American Association for Cancer Research Outstanding Services (2024)
• UCLA Public Health Hall of Fame Induction (2023)
• USC Distinguished Professor (2023)
• Lazarex Cancer Foundation Hands of Hope Award (2022)
• NIH Common Fund 10-Year Commemoration Video Contest Winner (2014)
• APHA Public Health Education Best Multimedia Award for cervical cancer film (2013)

Dr. Baez Conde has mentored approximately 300 students across all academic levels and is renowned as a faculty mentor. Her research is continuously funded by NIH (NCI, NIDA), including a transformative R01 grant investigating narrative communication in cancer messaging. She leads community-academic partnerships that secure multimillion-dollar grants for population health initiatives, with recent projects focusing on wildfire health communication and cervical cancer screening in East LA.

She directs the Center for Health Enhancement (CenHealth) for crisis communication and leads the "It's Time" cervical cancer screening initiative developed with Art Center College of Design. Her transdisciplinary teams consistently include cinematic arts experts, communication scholars, community health workers, and design specialists, creating innovative health interventions that bridge academic research and community action.